{
  "id": 1512481,
  "title": "Believe it or not: Farmers reject Dh97 million offer to turn family land into AI data centre",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/believe-it-or-not-farmers-reject-dh97-million-offer-to-turn-family",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-08-17T16:05:56.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Gulf News",
    "slug": "gulf-news",
    "url": "https://gulfnews.com/world/americas/believe-it-or-not-farmers-reject-dh97-million-offer-to-turn-family-land-into-ai-data-centre-1.500643932"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Two Kentucky farmers have turned down a Dh97.25 million offer to sell land their family has owned for generations, after learning it would be used for an AI data centre. Delsia Bare, 54, and her mother Ida Huddleston, in her 80s, initially agreed to sell parts of their land near Maysville, but withdrew once they discovered the intended use. The project was proposed to be a 2.2-gigawatt hyperscale data centre, reportedly backed by Meta. However, Meta has not confirmed any decision to develop the site. Bare and Huddleston were offered $48,000 and $60,000 per acre respectively for a total of $26.48 million, more than what the land would normally fetch. The family's decision was driven more by the belief that they have a responsibility to preserve the land, their faith, and the desire to keep it in the family, rather than the financial aspect. Bare likened the potential development to a curse, fearing she would be held accountable if the land were transformed into an AI hub. The dispute has divided the small town of Maysville, Kentucky, with some supporters seeing it as an economic opportunity and opponents raising concerns over the scale, water and electricity needs, and secrecy surrounding the developers. The project, once limited to 700 acres, expanded to cover over 2,000 acres, causing legal battles that delayed some land purchases.",
  "summary": "Dubai: Two farmers in Kentucky have rejected a Dh97.25 million ($26.48 million) offer for land that has been in their family for generations, after learning that the property was being sought for a vast data centre intended to support artificial intelligence infrastructure. Delsia Bare and her mother, Ida Huddleston, initially agreed to sell parts of their farmland near Maysville before…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}